BEHIND THE PINK CURTAIN Retrospective: Daisuke Goto's A LONELY COW WEEPS AT DAWN

Daisuke Goto's A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn aka Cowshed of Immorality (2003) is a pink film about a senile man who mistakes his daughter-in-law for a cow. The description and title alone are enough to grab some immediate sales, but the film offers a bit more than subversive thrills.

The film's main plot line involves a widow who wakes up every morning at sunrise to beat her father-in-law to his cowshed. Once there, she disrobes, and pretends to be the senile man's prize cow. The dramatic element arises from the reason behind widow's masquerade: to prevent the senile man's daughter from taking over the farm by having him declared as incompetent. Traditionalists will find enough characterization and plot in the drama to help them intellectualize the kink. Others should find the weird elements engaging enough to get them through the traditional story telling elements. This nice balance between weirdness and melodrama gives A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn a slightly broader appeal than the more aggressive pink titles. As such, anyone looking to investigate modern pink titles might find this film, which will be released on English subtitled DVD by Pink Eiga in late October, to be a good entry point.